The Innocence Mission

You may remember the Innocence Mission from its work in the early 1990s, which placed the band squarely in the newly rising college-rock scene alongside R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs. The good news is that the Innocence Mission never stopped making music, although the group has downsized via the departure of drummer Steve Brown. What remains is the band’s central core: husband-and-wife team Don (voice and guitar) and Karen Peris (voice, guitar and piano), and bassist Mike Bitts. On its newest release, the Innocence Mission reaches a quiet, tender place, with the music’s best moments reminiscent of another husband-and-wife team: Astrud and João Gilberto and their cool bossa nova. This is music made for warm evenings filled with late-summer rain. More information is at www.badmanrecordingco.com and www.theinnocencemission.com.